Bellarmine Celebrates Father Wade's 80th Birthday

Posted: January 30, 2018

More than 1200 well-wishers attended an event on January 27 in celebration of the 80th birthday of Reverend Gerald T. Wade, S.J. '55. Fr. Wade is a former president and current chancellor of Bellarmine College Prep.

Many Bell alumni, whose graduation years spanned eight decades, were among the guests at the on-campus celebration.

Speakers included Rev. Richard Cobb, S.J., longtime friend and colleague; Rev. Edward Reese, S.J., former principal of Bellarmine and current president of St. Ignatius College Prep in San Francisco; and Mr. David Romero, S.J., Jesuit novice who traveled from Boston College to entertain the crowd with his comedic impression of Father Wade. President Chris Meyercord '88 introduced a tribute video that was also streamed into other campus venues to accommodate overflow crowds. That video can be viewed on our website at www.bcp.org/fatherwade.

During the San Jose City Council meeting on December 12 - which is Fr. Wade’s actual birthdate - he received a commendation from Mayor Sam Liccardo '87. The on-campus celebration included presentations of additional commendations from Dominic Caserta '93, Santa Clara City councilmember; and Dave Cortese '74, Santa Clara County supervisor.

In lieu of gifts, Fr. Wade encouraged guests to contribute to the Wade Family Financial Aid Endowment.

This year marks Fr. Wade’s 63rd anniversary as a member of the Society of Jesus, which he entered upon his graduation from Bellarmine in 1955.

Related Articles

Posted November 29, 2018

Rob Carlmark, from ABC10, talks with George Shannon IV '09 and his grandfather, George Shannon Jr '55, about the importance of the Movember movement. It's so great to see Bellarmine alumni continuing to live out the motto of being "Men for and with Others". Go Bells!

Posted October 3, 2018

Josh '16, a redshirt sophomore linebacker at San Diego State University, recently won the Athlete CRUSH College Impact Catalyst Award. This award is given to a student-athlete who takes initiative to make a change, who gets involved with and starts initiatives to do good in their community or in the world around them.

Don't Step on the B!
The block B sidewalk mosaic was originally placed in the quad during the 1988-1989 school year. Tradition calls for students to walk around the B, rather than stepping on the B, as a demonstration of school pride.